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1st time to Vietnam: Bunch of questions

Appreciate if you could demystify some of the questions I have regarding travel to VN.

1) Visa. Many people here mentioned they got the "visa on arrival". Why can't you get it through the VN embassy in the US? More hassle, more expensive? The stamping fee has gone up in 2013 -- $45. I'd rather get it in advance so no waste of time standing in line at the airport. Will be flying into HCM, which sounds like the wait would be longer than Hanoi. Please clarify the visa issue for me.

2) Internal VN flights. Do you buy your internal flights in VN or in the US? Is it a lot cheaper in VN? You buy it from an agent? Anyone you recommend? Can we ask them via email in advance and hten pay them once we get to HCM?

3) How do you stay healthy? I know VN cuisine has a lot of raw salad and veggies, and from your trip reports, people seemed to be enjoying the food with abandon. Is it true or you actualy avoided raw veggies? Or had some way to wash them? Or only went to some recommended restaurants that are known to be safe?

4) Malaria Pill and Vaccine. Did you take malaria pills? Required for Sapa or the Mekong Delta? Other places I go to are the usual cities. Any special vaccines?

1) Some people choose to do the pre-arranged Visa because they cannot send their passport away for any length of time (ie. they will be traveling or need to send it away for other countries' visas during the time before they go to VN.

3) We ate with abandon. Would not add the herbs and veggies if a place looked really dodgy, but never had any major issues. I traveled with some serious foodies, so we ate in a lot of very small places, both in the countryside and in Saigon, and also ate with local families at their homes.

4) Depends on where and When you'll be there. Check the link Kathie posted or call a trusted travel doc to discuss the latest recommendations. Sometimes, your personal health issues may be cause for different advice re vaccines and anti-malarials.

If you are in NY, the VN mission at the UN can turn around Visas fairly quickly and you really should get it here. Like Kathie said, I'm not sure there is an option to obtain a Visa on arrival.

Re the flights, we went two years ago and were unable to use the Vietnam Air website to book our tickets from here. We used an agent in California to book our plane tickets only. We actually paid them here, and had our tickets issued before leaving the US. If you need it, I can try and find the agent information.

Re the food. I felt it was virtually impossible to eat real VN food without much of the raw stuff. Much like any other place, be vigilant, but eat the entire meal. I've found it very difficult to replicate the VN cuisine in the US. The taste is just different. That said, because of the raw stuff,we discriminated heavily with any street food. There is a restaurant called Quang An Yong (spelling phonetically) that mimics street food in a cleaner setting. Also, make sure you eat at Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi. It was awesome. If you like your history, take a trip to Pho Binh for a bowl of soup and ask to see the "upstairs room."

Pills etc. We take malaria pills every time we set foot in Asia or Africa. The risk reward simply makes sense, so you might as well. In Hanoi, depending on time of year, there can be enough mosquitoes to be bitten several times over. If you go to the Water Puppet show, you will get bitten. I can't remember anything out of the ordinary for vaccines (hepatitis, tetanus, polio booster etc.).

I have to disagree with the advice above. You should not be taking anti-malarials unless there is a documented malarial risk. The drugs do have side effects, overuse of antibiotics isn't good, and they are expensive as well.

Dengue fever is an equally serious risk, and the only prevention is mossie repellent or covering up. If you are properly protected for Dengue, you will be equally protected against malaria in areas where it is not a high risk.

OK, so the "visa on arrival" is to avoid sending your passport away. I just contacted Tonkin Travel and asked them about it, but then realized that they're based in Hanoi and I will be arriving in HCM.

* Q: Do you know of a reliable travel service based in HCM, so we could ask them about visa and also buying domestic air tickets?

Wow, I'm impressed that you all survived street food and all in VN! Even when I travel to China for business, my travel nurse told me not to eat any raw pre-cut fruits and veggies, even in 5* hotels!

* Q: For the Halong Bay boat tour, did you book it through a VN agent before you got to VN, or you booked it once you get there? Any recommended agents?

Thank you so much for demystifying my questions and saving me a lot of time! I was reading several guidebooks but couldn't quite the answers I wanted.

We used these guys http://www.cruisehalong.com/, and were able to pay from here, arrange a a round trip car from Hanoi Airport to the boat and to the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi. The Halong Jasmine is what we chose. All went without a hitch. After a good amount of research, I felt comfortable with them, but it has been a couple of years since our trip.

I believe that Tonkin can arrange for you to get a "pre-arranged" or visa on arrival whatever it is called There is some sort of letter that you get and you present it when you arrive. We decided to just get it thru the embassy since we live in DC. I would think that Tonkin can arrange it for you.
I used Tonkin also and thought they were excellent. They booked the flights for us and got us better rates on the hotels than I could find on the web myself. Tonkin also booked the HB trip for us. I think depending upon the time of year you can book it yourself when you arrive in Hanoi and may be able to save some money. We were there in Feb and our boat was full, but a couple people did get their tickets in Hanoi and not much in advance.

We also ate street food and had no problems. Obviously we looked at the cleanliness of the stand before we indulged.

Definately take Cipro. If you get sick it kicks in immediately. I had one bad night and was glad I had it. Better to be safe than sorry. You never know when it will strike. I thought I had a cast iron stomach and discovered...not so much. The Metropole Holtel will arrange a cab to the airport when leaving. They have a contract for $17.50 with the taxi company.

We made our own internal air reservations on the Vietnam Air website and the prices were the same at home and there.

We did use a local agent to make some hotel reservations, only because she could get us slightly better prices (5-10% if I remember correctly) -- we used vietnamstay.com (aka Aurora Travel) and thought they were excellent, very prompt and efficient.

As for street food, we ate in all manner of restaurants in Vietnam including dives that I wouldn't be caught dead in at home, but we didn't eat actual street food. We did not get sick at all.

As for Halong Bay, we did check on a couple of the upscale boats once we were in Hanoi, and they were booked solid (March 2011) so you might want to arrange this part of your trip in advance.

Hi all, we will be in Cambodia and Vietnam in February, almost ready to leave. I am paranoid about the Mosquitos because they love me. I am their appetizer, main course and dessert. I know long sleeves, long pants , spray with deet, but do you know of any herbs, or supplements you can take to make your body not taste as good? I would love to smell bad to them. I am really serious my reaction to them is really bad

Lady rep, like you. I am a mozzie magnet. There are many suggestions as to what you can eat to make you less attractive to Mosquitos, the most common being yeast extract ( marmite in the uk or veggie mite in Australia ) . Tried it a couple of times but it didn't make a blind bit of difference! I cover up but and spay with 50% deer but still seem to get bitten.

To the OP do check with a specialist physician as to whether you need malaria meds as this is very dependent on where in Vietnam you are going. No point in taking them if they are not needed as there can be side effects for some people. If you do need them then make sure you take them regularly as prescribed, before , during and after your trip. I didn't and contracted malaria when visiting Vietnam 20 odd years ago - not pleasant!

We have always eaten at street stalls, markets, small, local restaurants and peoples homes in the country and have never experienced any problems. Indeed, if you want to experience the real cuisine of the country, this is the best way to try it. The only time I got sick in vn was at a 5 * hotel restaurant ( don't assume that just because a place is expensive and upmarket, the food hygiene standards are any higher. Just take the usual sensible precautions primarily making sure that the food is freshly cooked, piping hot and you are eating at a busy place frequented by locals.

When you use the “Vietnam Visa on Arrival” service you will receive a letter with a nice red stamp and some pre-screening document information that (upon arrival)you take to the airport immigration desk along with your passport, 2 photos and the visa fee. There you will wait in a somewhat chaotic line while your visa is processed. USD are happily accepted.

We tend to eat everything in Vietnam and in several trips there, have only experienced one very minor stomach problem that was quickly resolved with Pepto-Bismol. However, we do typically carry along Cipro just in case.

As an aside, we think that particular bout was from the greens at the original location of Cha Ca La Vong. We have some additional restaurant, food and other suggestions at http://www.se-asiatravel.com/vietnam/.

I dislike the side effects of the malarial pills and tend to take them only when we are going to be in a risky area during high risk season. On our most recent trip, we were in Thailand, Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam in February 2012, which is not the time of greatest danger and did not take them.

So happy to see that you plan to include Sapa in your trip. It’s worth the trouble to get there. If you have the time, try to schedule a visit to one of the local market days in the area.

Based on a recommendation from another Fodorite prior to our first trip there, we also used Aurora Travel (aka Vietnamstay) for lots of our travel arrangements and have been very impressed with the service. On occasion, they’ve been able to get us air tix for less than we saw on the Vietnam Air website. We’ve always worked with Mr. Pham Tuyen; Website: http://www.vietnamstay.com; Email: tour@vietnamstay.com or info@vietnamstay.com. He works in the Hanoi office but they also have agents in HCMC that can deliver vouchers, etc on arrival there.

We used Aurora for our 2005 Halong cruise on the Emeraude, a reproduction of an early 20th Century French riverboat. One word of warning: if you do decide to book the Emeraude and you have a fear of being trampled; avoid standing between a group of hungry French people and the fromage tray.

You didn’t ask for any hotel information but we absolutely love the Charming 2 in Hanoi. It is not a 5-star luxury property but the rooms are large, clean and modern and the service is unbelievable. Plus we like staying in the Old Quarter. If you book directly with the hotel, they will include an airport pick-up for free.

On the mosquitos - we were in the same countries as mediakzar in the Jan/Feb 2012 timeframe. We saw lots of mosquitos and did get a couple bites despite using deet. A couple of the places where we stayed sprayed for reducing mosquitos. I too am a mosquito magnet and nothing has worked in terms of supplements, food etc in keeping them away. I took malarone where malaria was prevalent. Had no side effects.

Nothing you eat will make you less attractive to mosquitoes, though there have been stories from time to time about yeast and garlic. Reaseach has shown that it doesn't work, though if you eat enough raw garlic you will keep people away. Some of us just seem to be irresistably delicious.

Thanks, all, for the great info! Please provide any advice and recommendations you can think of--hotels, specific tour companies, logistics, etc. Really really appreciate it. I'm trying to comb through the trip reports as well.

Q: I'm still overwhelmed by how to do Halong Bay. Too many choices out there. 1 night vs 2 nights. Go to Cat Ba Island or not? Differences among the boats? Book there or here? What we want is more time spent on the Bay--kayaking in unique places, visiting interesting caves, sitting back and admiring the beauty of the bay. I see a lot of luxury boats offering cooking classes and cultural events, which we don't want to waste our time doing. Rather spend more time immersing in the scenery. Our main criteria for the boat is it's safe, clean and the staff are reliable and honest. Something in the mid-range is good enough. Please recommend something you think is suitable to us.

Q: Sapa. Sounds like Sapa can be done on our own. Do we need to book train tickets in advance from here? Or just show up at the station? We're planning to take the Sat night train and get there Sun morning, and head out to the famous Sun market. How to do this? What about luggage? Or we should leave the luggage in Hanoi and take a small backpack with us?

Q: Mekong Delta. Any recommendation for a day tour. Heard it's more convenient to go with a tour here. Also interested in the Cao Dai Temple and possibly Cu Chi Tunnel too.

I would not skip HB -- there are a lot of junks and it is confusing to figure out which one to go. We went with the recommendation by Tonkin Travel, Dragon Pearl, and were very happy with it. I did research some of the different companies and agreed with their recommendation. We did the 2 day 1 night. Folks went out kayaking the first afternoon for awhile. We were there in Feb and did not have great weather, but the formations are beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed our time at HB. If you will be there when its hot weather, I would think a break from the heat on the water would be wonderful. Our TR describes our time at Halong Bay (and elswhere in SEASia).http://www.fodors.com/community/asia/our-seasia-odyssey.cfm

We took the return train from Sapa back to Hanoi and the train appeared to be full. Again this was in February so not sure how busy it is at other times of the year. I would book ahead so as not to miss out.

Regarding Sapa: Yes you can do it on your own, but it would be smart to make the arrangements for the train and at least your tour to the Sunday market before you go.

I would add that the Hanoi train station is a bit chaotic and the peace of mind of having a helping hand to make sure you are in the right place at the right time may be worth a small service fee (over the price of the ticket) that a Hanoi agent will charge.

If you have the option, plan on leaving most of your luggage in Hanoi and take a small bag with you on the train.

There are several trains that can be taken but the SP1 is among the fastest. In addition there are several carriage and seating options but what we think is the most comfortable on the SP1 is the Tulico carriage. Most tourists opt for the 4-berth soft sleeper at a cost of roughly $70 for the round trip. Those that prefer not to share a cabin will book all 4-berths for 2 people. There is also 1 cabin on the Tulico carriage with 2-berths, which costs $140 per person for the round trip.

The train from Hanoi will drop you in the city of Lao Cai located about a 45 minute drive from Sapa and just across the river from the border with China. You’re going to be tired as it is difficult to sleep on the train but going to the Sunday market the same morning that you arrive will save you that 45 minutes on way to market as both Sunday markets we know of are in the opposite direction from Lao Cai as Sapa.

As for how to arrange the Sunday market tour: If you don’t want to use a Hanoi agent, get in touch with your Sapa hotel or a local tour company there and discuss your plans for the train station pick-up and trip to the market. They should be able to make those arrangements for you. They will pick you up at the train station, take you to the market and then return you to your Sapa hotel.

The best known Sunday market is at Bac Ha. It is extremely large and colorful and it was our choice on our first visit to Sapa. Since we had been to that one before, on our most recent trip we went to the Muong Khuong Market, which is another large market primarily oriented to the local population. If possible, this one is even more colorful and doesn’t get anywhere near the tourist traffic as Bac Ha. If you’re interested, there is more detail including a link to a video of the market at http://www.se-asiatravel.com/vietnam/sapa-2012/muong-khuong-sunday-market/.

In addition to our earlier suggestion on Aurora Travel agency, have a look at http://hanoifreetourguides.com, a very inexpensive option for local Hanoi tours. Guides are mostly university students.